Popular Places in Serbia

Places in Serbia

After only a couple of hours in Romania we were back at a border again, this time the one with Serbia. It didn’t take too long to get through first the Romanian & then the Serbian check points & head off to Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. Again the countryside was flat & featureless, no trees or hills just fields of maize with a lot of harvesting taking place. There does seem to be plenty of churches along the way.
We ended up in the only camp site we could find listed in this northern part of Serbia. It was well outside the centre of...

4/2
So far: Greece to Albania to Macedonia
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Hard to make sense from the appearance of things. Lots of Buildings half completed but obviously construction stalled (looking old, abandoned), For Sale signs, and newly completed as well as older buildings empty, just sitting. Then there are construction sites obviously in progress! Admittedly, not a lot, but still one wonders, who's got money to build new when so many places stand vacant? Even housing is similar - stalled and new side-by-side almost.
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The taxi got us to Ohvid bus station...

We left Croatia today.
Got a ride to the airport with our host Tomislav. A short wait at a very modern airport, and we were on our way. In a turbo prop aircraft - about a 1 hr flight to Belgrade. Looking down we could see farmland in all directions, with patches of forest and pine plantations everywhere. The farms are generally small paddocks, so it was very much a patchwork.
After a bottle of water and an unappetising bread roll, we were in Belgrade. There was no noticeable change in appearance from the air as we crossed the border. Same...

Our Cosmos Tour arrived to Novi Sad, Serbia, our first stop after crossing the Hungarian Boarder. It is my first time ever in Serrbia and this ancient land. I exchanged 20 Euoros for Serbian dinars and got $ 2000, to have lunch in Kombinat (Food made with care) eatery. The weather is warm and sunny, I am seating under a patio umbrella enjoying my lunch.

Today was spent on the train getting back to Beograd (Belgrad). On the way down to Niš, I had to take two trains. Not sure exactly why, but my train stopped and everyone had to get off. Then we all boarded another train. It was just as well, since this new train had a first class car (not just 2nd class cars). There was only one other passenger in the 1st class car and he spoke excellent English. So, we had a long conversation until he got off shortly before Niš. Meeting the locals is one of the reasons that I love to travel by train. Even...

My next major goal is visiting the UNESCO site called Felix Romuliana. This was a huge palace that was built in the 3rd Century AD for the roman emperor Galerius.
The emperor chose to build his palace in the area where he was born (and where he intended to die). Since he was born in an obscure village in Serbia, this meant it was nowhere near anything else at the time and is nowhere near any major city today. That makes getting there rather difficult.
Today's goal was to get to Zaječar (pronounced "Zie-shar"), which is the only nearby city....

Last night I arrived in Niš (pronounced "Neech") on a train from Beograd (Belgrade).
Today, I wandered the streets of Niš, learning about it's long history. I had never heard of Niš before this trip.
The only tourist sights within walking distance of my hotel are the pedestrian-only downtown, the fortress and a museum.
The only photo from today that needs any explanation is the gas station. Notice that the lowest gas price is 142.40. Is that expensive? Let's do the math. One Serbian Dinar is currently 0.01012 US Dollars, which means 142.40...

Nikola Tesla is probably the greatest inventor that you've never heard of. My first adventure today was visit the museum honoring him. Whether you know about Nikola or not, his inventing have directly influenced your life. His work on Alternating Current (AC) was the basis for building the world's first hydroelectric plant at Niagara Falls and the reason why every outlet in your home uses AC. The biggest reason you might not know him was his battle with Edison. Although Nikola worked for Edison for many years, they had a major falling out...

Winter arrived with a vengeance! I had been farther south and/or on the coast. Now, I'm inland in Beograd (Belgrade, Serbia). It's cold and windy! I ventured out for a few minutes trying to find an ATM. I found it but it's located inside the bank and the bank won't open until 9am. I went to the relative warmth of the train station and studied where the trains go. They aren't many trains and they don't go many places! I wrote down the few options in my notebook. Next, I purchased an all-day bus and tram pass (for about $3). By now, it was...

Time to leave a country with a exceptional mix of cultures. It can't even decide on one name for the country. Instead it has two names: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Worse, it has three different ethnic regions. The third region, Republika Srpska, didn't even get into the name of the country. It has three presidents and three religions: Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christianity, and Islam.
The country has two systems of writing. Some signs use the Roman alphabet (a, b, c, d). Some signs use the Cyrillic alphabet (а, б, в, г). Some signs have both....

We went through another border into Serbia. It was great that we had time to sleep again on the bus because I didn't have much sleep again the nigh before.
The landscape in Serbia is really cool. At one point we were driving through mountains that looked similar to the ones at home but tunnels were cut right through the mountains, not just on the sides like the Rockies.
We stopped at a rest stop where a lady had a small take out restaurant. She was so happy to have us all eat there. It took a long time to get food but I loved how happy...

Yesterday seems like such a long time ago when I get up this morning. I don't have any grand plans for Pristina - there are a few things I've jotted down to check out, but mostly I just want to have a bit of a wander around and see what the city's really like.
A lot of people looked at me like I'd sprouted a second head when I told them I was planning on coming here. I think for most people it's a place that still brings to mind images of conflict, violence, and poverty. Not entirely unreasonably - a quick look at the FCO travel advice...